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NAMIBIA OVERVIEW
A country of startling contrasts, Namibia boasts deserts, seascapes, and boundlessness. The many national parks and game reserves present a huge variety of wildlife in a kaleidoscope of diverse environments.
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Peak months
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April - October
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Epic suggests
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10 -12 days / 9 - 11 nights
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Sample itinerary
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- Sossusvlei - meaning 'the gathering place of water' in the local Nama language - in good years seasonal rains in the foothills of the Naukluft and Tsaris Mountains succeed in reaching the vleis, creating temporary lakes that mirror the sand dunes surrounding them. Sossusvlei's huge red dunes and flat valley floors make up the archetypical view of the Namib that is world famous. Desert-adapted wildlife such as ostrich, springbok and gemsbok eke out an existence and are sparsely distributed here. Larger predators include spotted hyaena and occasionally brown hyaena, a mystical shaggy-coated scavenger. Smaller creatures such as bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, porcupine, cape fox and aardwolf can be seen at night in the cool desert air, and one bird, the aptly named Dune Lark, has its entire global distribution limited to the area, so dependent is it on the area's characteristic sands.
- Damaraland - one of the most scenic areas in Namibia, a huge, untamed, ruggedly beautiful region. Here, prehistoric water courses with open plains and grassland, massive granite koppies and deep gorges. Towards the west, the geography changes dramatically with endless sandy wastes, that are able to sustain small, but wide-ranging populations of desert-adapted elephant, black rhino, giraffe, ostrich and springbok. These animals have adapted their lifestyles to survive the harshness of the sun-blistered, almost waterless desert spaces. Elephant move through euphorbia bush country, and can travel up to 70km in a day in search of food and water and unusually, do not destroy trees in their quest for food. Here you have the chance to follow black rhino in typical Damaraland 'melkbos' terrain.
- Etosha National Park - Namibia's premier game viewing destination, and one of Africa’s largest game parks. Large herds of plains-game concentrate around the waterholes in the dry season, making for exciting game viewing. Species that can be seen year round include elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, springbok, oryx, kudu and the diminutive damara dik-dik. Birdlife is also good with ostrich and raptors in abundance.
- Ongava Game Reserve - situated on the southern boundary of Etosha National Park, and forms an extension to the park. In 1991 the shareholders of Ongava converted four unproductive cattle farms into a 30,000 hectare private concession, thereby creating a haven for large concentrations of wildlife. Game such as elephant, lion, gemsbok, giraffe, zebra and eland can move freely between the two areas. The most successful reintroduction of game however is that of white and black rhino, and Ongava holds one of the largest rhino custodianships for the Namibian government.
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